Redealt
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: AU. It started off as a card game. But it became so much more as spirits long since sealed emerged, and with them, chaos. Frontier pseudo-crossover with Tamers.
1. Prologue

**Author's Notes**

This is a pseudo-cross between frontier and tamers. As in frontier characters, tamers card game and rule. Frontier enemy, tamers version of the digidestined, so instead of spirit evolution, it's the cards of the ten legendary warriors. Though you'll see that soon for yourselves. Provided we all stick around (me most of all there). *sighs* I swear my brain goes to fast for me to keep up sometimes.

Anyway, enjoy.

* * *

**Redealt**

AU. It started off as a card game. But it became so much more as spirits long since sealed emerged, and with them, chaos. Frontier, pseudo-crossover with tamers.

Rating: T

Genre/s: Drama

* * *

**Prologue**

'Mama?'

The pale, sickly woman referred to lay still and silent upon the futon in which she had been warmly tucked into. The hesitant whisper came from her son, a boy who didn't look older than eight on his knees beside her, hands stretching out to caress the skin: the cold hands, the stiff face, the ghost of a slight frown permanently etched upon her features.

A hand descended upon his shoulder, and he twisted his head back. The touch was vaguely familiar, the slightly coarse glove of a doctor who periodically checked on his mother's condition as it deteriorated. Then his hands were pulled away by its partner as the grip of the first tightened.

'I'm sorry,' the vaguely recognizable voice, toned with a mix of sorrow, regret and apathy. 'She's in a better place now. But her spirit will always be with you, in your heart.'

Tears spilled from the blue eyes as the hand retracted. His body became stone stiff on reflex, the statement and it's implications flashing through his barely-coping mind like a pictorial; his mother...dead...like Obaa-san...how would he live now?..who would take him in?..and his father left long ago...no relatives...dead, dead, DEAD!

He screamed, clamping his hands on his ears, letting go of the still corpse, his mother's corpse. He was old enough so that the childish ignorance did not cloud the permanence of death. Too old to believe that a fairy god mother or the likes would just wave a magic wand and everything would be all right, because it wouldn't.

The doctor gently pried his hands away, and the tear stained face tilted back to him.

'Go rest for now,' he advised quietly. 'The formalities and arrangements will be dealt with by the end of the week.

* * *

Later, long since the doctor had left and the sun had set, he wandered around the familiar neighbourhood as the emotional turmoil attempted to settle in.

It was one of the things that eventually had to happen, when her mother, his grandmother passed away, she had told him. Everyone has a time to live and a tie to die. And her time had now come, and she too had left the hardships that the worldly life had given her.

He tried to help as much as he was able, but an eight year old in elementary school was extremely limited in terms of the assistance he could provide, and in previous years, even more so, especially with the additional handicap of blindness upon him. But he still tried, as he felt his presence was another burden on his mother, even as she scolded him for thinking that way. Because two people costed considerably more to support than a single one, and the salary of a divorced mother with limited credentials could earn was not always sufficient.

And now she was gone, and he was alone.

Carefully, as he walked, he fingered the fences, counting off steps in his head so he knew where he was and how to get back, while simultaneously keeping an ear out for footsteps and other noises which may alert him to the presence of other people, or vehicles when the fences momentarily disappeared from touch. All the while as he drifted in his own thoughts and the cauldron of emotion, dry stains on his cheeks, his dam at the current moment exhausted.

Until he became aware of the foreign, rhythmic footsteps following him.

He paused on the asphalt, and turned around, and he heard the footsteps come closer to him. For a moment, there was silence, until an unfamiliar voice broke it.

'Someone as young as you shouldn't be out on your own at this hour,' a distinctly male tenor stated. 'Where's your mother? She must be worried sick.'

It was a perfectly innocent question innocent question; after all, an assumed stranger had no way of knowing the earlier event. But for the second grader, the hurt was too new, the wound too raw, for such a statement to not bring about another turmoil of emotion.

So he did the first thing that popped into his head. He turned and ran.

Thinking back, it was an incredibly stupid thing to do, seeing as though he had lost track of where he was. The fingertips never left the fences as he ran, tracing everything from wooden posts to brick layers to the thorns from overgrowing roses, all the while as footsteps pounded after him and the noise of late hour traffic filled the road, and the stiffness of his mother's corpse feeling under his fingers.

Then suddenly, his hand was touching nothing save it, and the horrible screeching of squealing tires filled his ears. He froze, clutching at nothing and unable to know in which direction danger lay, and in which, safety. The sound of his hammering heart and choked sobs filled his ears, making it impossible to figure out in what direction the noise came from by auditory sense alone-

-then something, or someone as he felt the warmth of another body on top of his, knocked him off his feet and onto the sidewalk.

The screeching stopped, and another pair of footsteps, heavier than the previous ones, neared. Unfamiliar hands took hold of him as the weight lifted to an extent, and on instinct, he tried to shake it off initially. The hold however, felt warm, and comforting, like he always imagined a father's embrace to be, and he eventually slumped into it, tired out and willing to trust anyone with a prospect of sanctity and a future at this point.

'Don't you know to look both ways before you cross the road?' an annoyed voice asked, though the effect was somewhat ruined by the concern that the Kansai accented masculine voice.

The boy shook slightly, before looking sightlessly towards the voice. 'I'm blind,' he whispered, barely audible. 'I can't see.'

'I was looking after him,' the other male continued the explanation, and not entirely untruthfully. 'But I said something that upset him and he ran off.'

'Well then...' the reply trailed off for a bit as the footsteps retracted. 'Don't run away from your father again now, 'kay?'

'I don't have a father,' the boy muttered, loud enough so that the man who held him heard, but not the driver, who by then was seated in his car.

Moments later, he drove off, and the other two were alone again.

The grip tightened slightly, as the older male spoke into the silence.

'Where is your mother?' he repeated, gently, and yet firmly.

The other sniffed slightly, and the hands behind his back pushed him slightly forward into the embrace, so his face was mostly buried into the comfortable-feeling cotton shirt.

'She's dead,' he mumbled finally, his voice half swallowed.

'And you don't have a father?'

The small head shook slightly.

'Then who looks after you?'

He sounded concerned, like he cared Not many people talked to him like that; only his mother and grandmother, but they were both dead now.

'No-one,' he answered, after a short pause.

'You're all alone?'

A nod.

'Then how about you came with me?'

The heads shot out of the embrace, but the hands holding him prevented him from going much further.

'With...you?'

'Sure.' The man sounded genially excited. 'I'll be your father, and I'll look after you.'

'But-' he stuttered. 'Why would-'

'I can't just leave you on the streets now,' the other laughed. 'Besides, you seem like a good kid.'

A hand ruffled his short hair, before the voice continued.

'I could probably help you see too,' he stated thoughtfully. 'I think I know something that could do the trick.'

'Really,' he breathed amazed. To actually be able to see like other kids, to be able to do the things that they do, read and write in Japanese as opposed to the Braille alphabet he used, read games, and so many times that in the current circumstances was impossible.

'Yep. And then I'll teach you a few things too. You know the digimon Card Game?'

A hesitant 'yes' followed. He did know the game, but not the cards, nor the rules. He didn't have friends; no-body wanted to hang out with the blink hid, and his mother wouldn't have been able to afford the cards in any case.

'I'm a designer, so I make quite a bit of money through the retail line. But it gets lonely, especially in such a big house. So what do you saw? Want to come live with me?'

The blue eyes stared at the ground, even while being physically unable to see it, considering the proposal.

'I'll just be a burden,' he muttered. 'Just like I was a burden to 'kaa-san.'

'You won't,' the other assured. 'And I'm sure you weren't a burden to your mother either. I've seen the two of you around town. Sure she always seemed a little tired, but she was happy. Because she loved you.'

Another stretch of silence followed as the older male waited patiently. And then he finally nodded his assent. It was better than the orphanage in any case. He'd heard the stories about that place.

'Okay then,' the man said. 'Kouichi, wasn't it?'

The said boy blinked in surprise, but nodded in affirmation.

'When Kouichi, let's go back to your old place and sort this out, shall we?'

* * *

**Post Author's Notes**

I've tried to simply the language (if you can't see it, look at something like **Immortal** and compare), but apparently, I'm just a naturally complicated person, so I don't know how well that turned out. Reason is because, even if it's in 3rd person POV, it's from the perspective of an eight year old, so his thought processes and articulation thereof, and thus the overall narrative, isn't as complicated as it would be for someone older. If you looked closely at **Desperation**, you'd find I've done the same thing to Takuya who tends to speak for colloquially than say the twins, who are more formal in their dialect.

By the way, Kouichi has cataracts (so do I for that matter, but that's not really relevant, and not to the extent that I'm completely blind). For those of you not familiar with it, cataracts is an eye disease which in this case results from genetic mutation before birth but after cell differentiation (and obviously after he split when the single zygote split into monozygotic twins). So while Kouichi is blind, Kouji still has perfect vision. It's when cloudy spots have developed on the lens. In severe cases such as this one, the lens become opaque, thus light can't go through at all. As for what will help, it's not surgery, it's something else, my own theoretical invention that should theoretically work with advancing modern technology, but I'm no scientist, though that is my future prospect. The dream I'm slowly working towards.

As for why Kouichi's not suspicious that the other man (currently nameless) knew his name and has seen him and his mother, he just assumed it was because he (Kouichi) couldn't see him because of his blindless.


	2. Title and Introductions

Tomoko's maiden surname wasn't Kimura in this story. She took her mother's surname after the divorce to stop her husband from finding them if he suddenly decided he wanted both sons. She just didn't want to lose what remained of her family, and because Kouichi is such a common name and Kousei doesn't pay attention to the card game anyway, he's still to know. And no-one contacted him about his ex-wife's death, so he doesn't know about that either.

As for the card game, I've tweaked some of the card effects, only because I got confused with all the different versions of the same card. Cards are written in English, because I don't know all the names in Japanese, but real life digimon when they appear are in Japanese.

Sorry for the delay. I was trying to figure out the game. And when I did, I lost the plan, so I had to refigure who got what partner.

Anywho, enjoy.

* * *

**Redealt**

AU. It started off as a card game. But it became so much more as spirits long since sealed emerged, and with them, chaos. Frontier, pseudo-crossover with tamers.

Rating: T

Genre/s: Drama

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Titles and Introductions**

It was the Digimon Grand Prix's final match, so it was no wonder the stadium in Shibuya was packed. What made the event even more famous however were the two contenders, both past champions, one still holding the title and the other having lost it to the first two years ago. But with the way he had slaughtered his way through the preliminaries, many were eager to watch him fight back for his title.

Amongst the crowd was perhaps only one boy who could say he knew him personally. Minamoto Kouji was after all not the most social person to walk the face of the earth. While he was smart, good looking, polite as Japanese customs dictated (mostly, unless his limited patience was tried) and on the market, his frosty wall kept most people, including his own father and stepmother, at a distance, so all most people saw was the outer cold facade. Kanbara Takuya was however a special case.

He was almost always a special case actually. Except when it came to his family; that was perfectly normal. Two parents, a brother and a normal house were nothing unusual to come by, but his boisterous personality that could melt through any form of ice or snow certainly was. A month after his first meeting with the lone-wolf who had just transferred into his school, he had successfully reduced old frosty as he had so politely dubbed him into a regular human being. A couple weeks after that, the two were hard core rivals...and he (Kouji that is) still wouldn't so much as properly look at another human being. And I say human, because the German Sheppard barking at the brunette's heels was and always had been exempted from this attitude.

For the other, the current dubbed 'Digimon King', there were three adults in the crowd. His adopted father and his two closest work colleagues, the two the boy had grew up with for the last three years. And he was sitting on the pavilion that day to make them proud of him.

Funny the things pride did. His opponent was trying to get his pride back with a victory. Everyone watching that match knew someone was going to lose.

And the odds were in neither's favour. After all, between the anti-social lone wolf and the mystery champion who never seemed to be seen outside these tournaments (all they had to go on with was a name that showed up virtually no-where in any recent records, and black hair which was unfortunately rather common), no-one really had much but skill to go on.

And Minamoto Kouji had come a long way in the game since his defeat two years ago in the hands of this same boy.

* * *

'Well folks,' the announcer blared into the loudspeaker. 'We're finally up to the finals of this year's Digimon Grand Prix, and what a match it will be. Certainly one that's going to be remembered for a long time.'

There was a roar of agreement from the more enthusiastic members of the crowd, and the commentary continued.

'The first turn is taken by Minamoto, who plays a Patamon before quickly digivolving him. Looks like he's pulling the stops already. We can guarantee this to be an intense battle. And his opponent has followed that up with a special digivolution summon of Ophanimon. It looks like neither player is wasting any time, as Kimura gains a 500 point lead.'

On the table, Kouji inwardly scowled at the magnificent angel hologram, seeing his own champion diminish in size as Ophanimon's special ability lowered Angemon's attack and defence by a hundred points. Instead of commenting however, he simply drew two new cards as the eyes of his opponent, for once not shielded as they always were behind dark lenses, regarded him coolly, a calm turquoise colour that seemed to internally sparkle and dim simultaneously.

His own cold blue turned back to the cards he held. Another turn, and then he could take down that Ophanimon, so he would have to stall and defend his points as he could.

'And Minamoto has played two rookies this turn,' the commentary continued. 'Evolving Armadillamon to Ankylamon and leaving him in the digivolution row out of harm's way as Gabumon takes on Wargreymon's shield and attempts to hold the fort. But even that is no match for Orphanimon...and what's this, Salamon has joined the digivolution row and evolved into Gatomon? Really Kimura, what's with all the girls swarming your field?'

Kimura Kouichi heard him, and went bright red at the comment, while the three adults in the crowd stifled giggles.

'That one's your fault Chieko,' Miura Hitoshi, tall, fair and brunette, laughed. 'You were the one who gave them to him.'

'Not my fault he drew them before Seraphimon,' the only female, blonde and beautiful but certainly not dainty Nakashima Chieko laughed. 'Besides, we all know how protective a father Satoru is. Wouldn't let a girl ten feet near Kouichi-kun unless she was absolutely perfect.'

She was teasing, but all the same, she was lucky the two subjects of her conversation hadn't heard her. While Kouichi would have just blushed in embarrassment, dark-haired Watanabe Satoru didn't like his ability of parenting being questioned. Though there was no question about it now; three years of raising a blind child had turned the quiet child into a content preteen and the three, together themselves since childhood, couldn't be happier that one of their own was building a family for themselves, as unorthodox as the method was.

'Pay attention,' the other countered, seeing as Kouichi's turn was now over with a 690 point lead over the other. 'I think Ophanimon's about to be knocked out.'

'And Ophanimon is a goner,' the announcer announced at the same moment. 'A jogress between Ankylamon and Angemon with the additional help of the DigiModify card "Power" has ensured that. Minamoto has narrowed the lead, but 90 points isn't a lot to go by. The game's still young, so let's see how Kimura retaliates. And...the sanctified creature of light has taken the stage. The digiegg of light has summoned Nefertimon, who now takes Shakkoumon down with no problems at all, leaving Kimura with a total of 710 points. Minamoto better hurry up and narrow that lead down, especially with training grips boosting the angel's defence and Lopmon hanging on the side with a power boost from two discarded Terriermon's.'

Kouji frowned at the cards in his hand, trying to work out the best way to get around the growing problem, before playing Demidevimon and evolving the little devil to its champion form.

'And Devimon takes out Nefertimon, narrowing the lead to 510 points. But Kimura retaliates with Wizarmon's Magical Game with Lopmon following up the attack with a direct Tiny Twister. This match is getting further and further in his favour, but both players still have quite the ways to go, so can Minamoto turn this match around?'

'Man,' Takuya groaned from the crowd. 'How many times can Kouji get his butt kicked by the same kid?'

Upon the stage, Kouji was starting to internally growl in frustration. He was losing an edge he never had...again. For the third time in three years, he was heading towards a loss by the same boy, the one who had knocked him off his undefeated record in the first round of the preliminaries in the first tournament the other had participated in, and he hadn't been able to beat him since. Or ever really, since he had never met the kid before.

Drawing two more cards, he stared critically at his hand, before letting a small smirk grow. Let the other get out of this mess in a hurry, he thought, revealing four cards, a Kotemon, Gladimon, Knightmon and Crusadermon, before summoning the last as a special digivolution.

'And it look like he has,' the announcer blared. 'That's a lot of attack points to manage. And Kimura seems to be struggling with his move, eventually deciding to digivolve Wizarmon to Mistymon and leave the ultimate in his digivolving row? Was that a good idea? But moving on, Minamoto has summoned Kotemon and then digivolved him to Blimpmon, a Fist of Athena from the previous Royal Knight easily dispatching the rookie Lopmon while the other launches a direct attack. A powerful comeback, Minamoto's taken the lead with 3050.'

'Go Kouji!' Takuya cheered loudly, and Kouji heard him.

Kouichi laughed lightly at that. 'Sounds like you've got a good friend,' he commented.

'Focus on your move,' the other bit back.

The first regarded him calmly, then did so, drawing two cards before evolving Mistymon to his final stage, ChaosDukemon. Regarding the Veemon he had just drawn, then the two digimentals in his hand, he selects the Awakening of Gold Digizoid to Magnamon.

'This will be interesting,' the commenter commented. 'ChaosDukemon and Crusadermon head to head. Though we all know who will win...and look, Kimura has played recovery, trading Seraphimon in his hand to the Ophanimon he had lost, dropping all stats of Minamoto's line by 100 points. And that triple attack is not quite enough to narrow the lead, though there's only a 50 point difference now, with Minamoto having lost his strongest card and Kimura having quite an arsenal ready. The tables could be tipping again.'

Hitoshi from the crowd pouted. 'Did he have to discard Seraphimon? And for Orphanimon too?'

'You have to admit,' Satoru pointed out. 'Orphanimon has a far handier effect.'

'Like you're one to talk. Lopmon didn't even make it past the rookie stage.'

'Seraphimon didn't even make it to the stage.'

'Oh, just shut up and listen.'

They turned their attention back to the match, just as Kouji does his third special digivolution that day to call out Megidramon.

'That's one gruesome dragon,' the announcer continued his commentary. 'And Kimura chooses to take that and...summon and attack with a Birdramon? Why not use ChaosDukemon? Or the rest of his front line?'

That caught everyone's attention; Kouichi had indeed ended his turn without attacking with any of the other monsters on his field.

'What's the deal?' Kouji asked, torn between insult and surprise at his luck.

Kouichi smiled sheepishly at him, having started at the announcement before face-palming his forehead. 'I forgot about them,' he explained, sounding as awkward as he looked, as to the sidelines, the adopted father face palmed his head in amused disbelief, having a time stifling his laughter.

'You forgot?' the bandana-wearing boy repeated. 'How can you, with your cards right in front of you?'

His opponent just waved off the question, so he left it in the air and returned to his own game. It was no fault of his own if such a blunder cost the other the match.

'Well, that was interesting.' Of course, the commentary would continue to rain and...storm?

Rain suddenly started pouring down on the luckily closed rooftops, the thundering not so loud in the sound-proof arena, however transmissions seemed to be having a few issues, as whatever the announcer said next was lost is static. As well as the commentary that Kouichi was relying on to follow the duel, having left his glasses at home and covered his temples because of the forecasted storm. The vision aid, though now only working monochrome and until recently only infrared, tended to short circuit during such storms, and rain did no help to the electrodes they read through.

'Hey,' Kouji bit out, seeing his opponent not doing anything. 'Do you mind making your move?'

It was his move already?

'What did you do?' he asked, slightly uncomfortably at the frosty attitude the other exhibited.

'Look,' the other shot back, frustrated at the sudden loss of grip. 'Are you trying to psyche me out or something, because it won't work.'

'N-no,' Kouichi stuttered, not used to people getting angry or annoyed at anything, especially those his age and who tended to respond violently. 'I-I can't see; I'm blind.'

That shut Kouji up, as well as the crowd who heard the admission; for some reason, only the announcer's microphone had been knocked out. Then the bandana wearing boy did the only thing he could think to do in the awkward situation that was most likely the truth, seeing as the turquoise eyes hadn't focused on anything specific the whole time. He answered the original question.

Kouichi simply thanked him and made his move, pulling Magnamon from the front line and digivolving Birdramon, discarding his hands once more to push the former's attack strength to 990.

As fate would have it, before the shock had settled (save in the four who already knew), the storm ended, and the staticking microphone went back online.

'And we're back to Minamoto.' He continued on with real time as Kouji drew his new cards. 'Playing speed, making sure two of three attacks against his Crusadermon miss. A failsafe I presume, as the Royal Knight takes down the Great Angel for the second time this match. At 5870, Minamoto takes back the lead, but it's a close one. Unless Kimura has something to say...and he does. Digivice Green and Yellow evolves Garudamon to Hououmon, followed by Patamon and the Digiegg of Hope to call out Pegasumon. Smart move; that flying horse cuts opponent's strength by half. But those monsters still have a one in three chance of hitting...though with Magnamon re-called to the front line, the odds may be in Kimura's favour. And it looks like he's not done, playing the last card in his hand: Extreme Speed! Folks, this match is over!'

It was, as extreme speed counteracted the regular speed card, leaving Hououmon more than a match for Crusadermon, with a follow up direct attack from Magnamon sweeping the debris up.

Kouichi looked happy at that, though he placated his assignment as to not offend the other. Contrarily, Kouji wasn't pleased after his third consecutive lost, but avoided letting the bitterness into his voice as he shook the other's hand, watching in a sort of guilty satisfaction as the other almost tripped over his seat standing up.

'How do you know what cards of your own you play?' he couldn't help but ask, believing but still somewhat sceptical as he always was, though knocking the burning glare behind the ice fortress, reserving that for more deserving targets (or perhaps not, but he would appear a rather bad sport and _extremely_ unpolite if he were to hurt the other's feelings at this point in time. In any case, angry preteen he may be, but he wasn't a bully. Antisocial perhaps, coming off a tad rude at times, but no bully.)

'Huh?' The other, who had been gathering his cards back up, looked up blankly and in the general direction of his voice, before his brain registered the question. 'Oh..._tenji_.' Hearing a breath of confusion, he added: 'braille.'

He offered a card, which the other took, seeing a LadyDevimon and feeling dots on the top right hand corner.

That explained the delays; he had been feeling the top of his cards before playing them.

'All right,' he assented, knowing he had to say _something_ or those damn eyes wouldn't stop not-staring at him. No offence to the kid, but it was rather unnerving to have sightless eyes focused on you with such intensity. Then out of common respect he bowed a farewell.

'I'll see you around,' he muttered, though doubting it. The kid seemed to vanish after these tournaments.

'Maybe we will,' the other replied, making sure the coast for his head was clear before returning the boy. His tone however foreshadowed a different kind of doubt.

Then Takuya and Satoru were both on the state, the father taking his child and carefully navigating him through the stage and stairs while the brunette grinned up at his black-haired friend.

'Man,' he commented. 'That was a tough duel. It was so close at the end.'

'Only because he messed up that one turn,' the other growled, free to show frustration at inability in front of his best friend (and currently only human one) where no masks were required.

'Look on the bright side buddy,' the brunette chirped. 'At least he didn't knock you out of the preliminaries again.'

'Shut up.'

Takuya just laughed. There wasn't much that could get him down.

* * *

Abandoning his grouchy friend when their paths forked and cutting through the park to get to his own home, before being hailed and dragged away by a few friends.

'Hey Chumley,' the eldest of them, Shibiyama Junpei called, from the cubby house in the playground which the gang had taken as their miniature hideout.

'Hey yourself,' the chocolate eyed boy shot back playfully, crawling into the space created for him. 'Not at the tournament?'

'We were,' the other, Taniguchi Teruo replied, in a slightly softer tone than the brunette preferred, but he didn't call him out on it. After all, it was more than most people managed to get out of the shy boy. 'But we left as soon as the match finished.'

'Oh, okay.'

The goggle-wearer leaned back, slipping his hands behind his neck and supporting the base. 'Man, that other kid sure is good.'

The other two voiced their agreement. 'I didn't know he was blind though,' Teruo commented, fiddling around with his jacket sleeve as he tended to do. 'That would explain why he almost tripped both ways.'

'It would,' Takuya agreed. 'But it's going to be rather awkward for him now. You saw Kouji. And while it may not have affected _his_ play, no doubt people are going to remember this next year.'

'I don't get it,' the third of their threesome admitted. 'You make it sound like a bad thing.'

The former just threw his hands in the air. 'Seriously, Jun,' he groaned. 'There was probably a good reason why he hadn't said anything before. I doubt he'd want special treatment.'

'Like you'd know.'

'Guys, stop,' Teruo interrupted the other two brunettes before the pending argument escalated. 'That's not even our business.'

'True,' the eldest assented, digging around, before pulling out his deck from its hiding spot.

'Want a quick game?' he asked, and Takuya agreed. His ego after all, wasn't quite as tender as his lone wolf friend.

* * *

Takuya quickly found that fifth place in a state wide tournament didn't save his points from taking quite brutal hits. A few minutes in, he found himself on the slightly losing end with MetalGreymon attempting to pick up the slack against MegaKabuterimon, with their third member simply making sure nothing went too out of control.

The goggle-wearer drew two new cards, hoping for WarGreymon to get him out of this mess, but what he found instead was...

'A blue card?' he wondered. 'I didn't even know they existed, let alone me having one.'

'A blue card?' his opponent repeated, only in a more scoffing tone. 'What, let your little brother play around with your deck?'

'I hope not,' the other exclaimed in horror. 'What would have happened if I drew that in the tournament. Now I'm down to one card.'

The brown eyes couldn't help but glare at the Agumon he had drawn. Real helpful, especially since he had nothing else in his hand.

'I'll pass,' he groaned, slumping forward slightly.

'Same,' Junpei decided, flipping his two cards and not getting anything of help. 'Actually, I need to be getting home anyway.'

'Me too,' Teruo agreed, sliding across and down.

'Already?' the third asked. 'Then what was the point of being here in the first place.'

'We just wanted to congratulate you,' Teruo smiled warmly. 'But you know Junpei, had to tease a little first.'

The three shared a laugh, before they split their separate ways.

Takuya decided to stay a little, the presence of the blue card being rather unnerving. Despite what Junpei had said, he could not imagine how eight year old Shinya could have gotten his hands on such a card.

The reader was lying right by his hand, telling as well as an inanimate object could to simply scan the mystery card and find out its secrets. So, as he always did, he followed his instincts and slid the card through the reader.

What he hadn't expected was the response.

While the reader could have given an error or any other rational response, it instead chose to glow and morph itself into a new device, looking suspiciously similar to the digivices on sale at the toy stores from the digimon franchise, though this one was slightly different than the D-3's, and bright red in colour.

And while the brunette gaped, Agumon still in hand flew and scanned itself.

A moment later, a life sized Agumon was blinking at him, and a card he had never seen before was in the other hand (not that he noticed at the time, too much in awe about the former situation).

And the only thing that came to mind was to blink back.

'Hi,' the orange lizard said finally. 'I'm Agumon.'

'I'm Takuya,' the human replied, worrying for his sanity at the life-sized digimon before him, before hitting his head with his palm. 'I'm hallucinating, aren't I?'

The digimon simply cocked his head in reply.

'Yep. Definitely hallucinating.'

* * *

Chieko unlocked the door to her empty home, before stepping back to let her guests inside, before entering herself and letting the wooden structure bang close.

The three adults hung their dry umbrellas (they had after all been inside when it rained), the blonde woman snatching the child's one before he could attempt to put it roughly with the rest, which was then followed by the coats. The trophy was still balanced under one arm, until Satoru stole it from under Hitoshi's sneaky glare and prompting a small squabble which send Kouichi giggling as he listened to them in amusement.

'What are you laughing at munchkin?' Hitoshi asked playfully, ruffling his hair and causing the other's chuckling to increase, the four perfectly at ease in one of the three homely conditions they had grown to adapt.

The overprotective father scowled good-naturedly, before attempting to straighten the messed up raven hair.

The blonde laughed from the doorway other room, having snuck away during the slight commotion. 'Boys,' she called out with amusement lacing her tone, rolling her eyes in what the other three assumed to be exasperation, seeing as there was a corridor separating the female from her almost family.

And then a scream suddenly followed.

The two men raced into the living room, followed slightly more cautiously by the young boy, though in his haste having almost tripped over the rug along the way, to find (for those who could see), the safe hidden above the fireplace open...and noticeably empty.

'T-the c-cards...' Chieko managed to stutter, as the two men stared shocked, before each sprung for their own homes, Hitori running a few blocks down while Satoru snatched Kouichi's hand and pulled him across the street.

What was in those three safes, one belonging to each of the designers of the digimon franchise line, could never fall into the wrong hands. Nor could they ever be together.

* * *

The brunette tentatively stretched out a hand, only to meet three very real claws.

'Okay,' Takuya began, wondering whether he should be excited or freaking out. 'Either this is a very good trick, or you're really a digimon.'

'I'm a digimon,' the reptile blinked. 'What else would I be?'

'A hoax,' the boy muttered, putting a hand to his head.

'I could make fireballs if that's convincing?'

'Definitely not!'

Crocodile tears began to form in the green eyes. 'Then I'm not a hoax?'

'Okay, okay, you're not a hoax,' Takuya hurriedly replied, the tears reminding him too much of his little brother trying to get his way and almost expecting his mother to walk in and hit him on the head with her ladle.

Mercifully, she didn't, and the waterworks halted as the excited Agumon jumped around the small shelter in excitement.

'Why are you here anyway?' Takuya asked curiously, leaning towards the excited side seeing as he was still in one piece and not well done.

'I dunno,' the Child digimon answered cheerfully. 'Do I?'

The brunette had to groan. 'Then what are you doing here?'

'Staying with you.'

...wait, what? 'kaa-san will have a fit if I bring a reptile home!'

The crocodile tears made him reconsider against his better judgement. Not that he ever listened to the little rational voice in the first place.

* * *

'They're all gone,' the brunette male groaned, threading his fingers through his short cropped hair. 'What now?'

The blonde shrugged despondently, waiting for the third member of their triplet. He came, Kouichi still hanging onto his arm, looking only slightly better than the pair waiting for him. 'I've only got one,' he sighed, revealing the one in his palm, the afternoon sun shining off the blue finish.'

'Well, there's that at least,' the first speaker sighed. 'But the other nine are gone.'

'Then we'll have to find them,' Kouichi inputted, staring sightlessly from one to another. 'Those cards are one of a kind; it would be rather difficult to hide. And as long as we still have one, it will be okay...right?'

'Right kiddo,' Chieko grinned, ruffling his hair again. 'What worries me though is how they were stolen. Only the four of us know about it...well, three. The two of you...' Here, she looked at the parent and child. '...practically count as one anyway.'

'You're forgetting _him_,' Hitoshi growled. 'He knew.'

'That's right, he did. But he couldn't have done anything.'

Kouichi said nothing here, not knowing who they were talking about and having the sense not to ask. The other three fell silent in any case, and only the breathing, slightly strained and heavy, existed in his black world, and the warm palm his hand lay in.

'So now what?' That was Chieko again, and as her voice was moving, soft padding following her tone, he assumed she was pacing.

'As Kouichi said,' Satoru replied. 'We find the other nine. And make sure no-one gets this one.'

He held up the last of the cards, the one who's mystery still remained veiled.

'Which is it?' Hitoshi asked, and Satoru had to shrug. 'Perhaps we could-'

'Hold it.' Chieko again. 'You can't possibly be thinking-'

'Why not?' the brunette demanded. '_We_ won't be able to find them. And you know the prophecy. It's _children_ who are fated to take them.'

'That's hogwash,' the father growled, tightening his grip on his adopted son. 'I'm not risking this for some soothsayer.'

'You know the faith I put in them,' the blonde interrupted, looking at Kouichi who unknowingly stared back. 'But I still don't like it.'

'Like what?' Kouichi asked, turning to tilt a sightless gaze to his father. 'Otou-san? What's going on?'

'Kouichi...' His voice faltered a little, before the line dropped completely. 'It might not even be compatible.' But the argument sounded weak, even to his own years.

'We won't even know until we try,' Hitoshi pointed out, taking the card from his co-worker and handing it the child. 'Just scan this card for us, 'kay?'

Kouichi took the card, but made no move to fulfil the request, head still tilted in the direction of his guardian. Realising what he was waiting, Satoru voiced his reluctant agreement.

He fumbled in his pocket, glad that he always carried the reader in the pocket of his overshirt and not the jacket he occasionally adorned over the almost Christmas-like attire. Then, when the reader was firmly in hand, and right way up, he slid the card through...and then dropped the reader as it shocked him.

'Ouch,' he exclaimed, putting the finger in his mouth while the three adults gaped. 'What happened?'

No-one replied, simply staring as the reader warped into another sort of device, one that mirrored the prototypes they had created but never released.

'A D-arc,' Hitoshi gaped, before composing himself. 'There's no question about it now. That card belongs to him.'

There was a groan that sounded so unlike his father that the boy almost doubted the source. But then he spoke, and all uncertainty faded with the word he spoke.

'Why?'

'Who knows,' the only female of their trio sighed. 'I would say destiny, but you never believed.'

The raven leaned down and picked up the blue card, though now no longer so.

'AncientSphinxmon,' he read aloud. 'The Ancient Warrior of Darkness.'

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Kouichi's deck flew free from its holder and scattered.

Chieko couldn't help but squeal as the three scrambled for the cards, the youngest standing rather confused with the sound he could only associate at best with someone playing pick-up fifty with a deck of cards. Once a card hit his cheek though, he caught on, snatching blindly and catching one, a Renamon...only for it to fly out of his hand with enough force to leave a paper-cut behind.

The slight stinging made him loosen his hold, and then the card was gone, scanned into the D-arc, the boy ignoring the less painful wound and listening for anything that could shed light on the situation, whether that be an explanation or tell-tale sounds...or anything else.

All he heard was the faint rustling of fur in the breeze.


	3. Handicapped

**Author's Notes**

I know there are special schools and things, but I also know that some children with handicaps prefer to try to adapt to normal schools. That's what Kouichi is trying to do. They make special arrangements for the student normally though. He's going to have to take his tests and worksheets and things in Braille.

Anywho, enjoy.

* * *

**Redealt**

AU. It started off as a card game. But it became so much more as spirits long since sealed emerged, and with them, chaos. Frontier, pseudo-crossover with tamers.

Rating: T

Genre/s: Drama

* * *

**Chapter 2 – Handicapped**

Kouichi woke up a tad sluggishly to something, or rather someone, pawing at his face. Because his mind was still somewhat stuck listening to the gentle waves, the sweet breeze and the soft rustling of leaves, it took a moment for him to recognise the touch. When he did, he simply rolled over, shielding his vulnerable face by burying into the pillow, and attempted to return to the world of his dreams. The paws playfully attacked his exposed neck, then jumped onto his stomach when he shifted again.

'Kouichi,' the female voice said, a little sternly, into his ear. 'It's time to wake up.'

'Okay,' he grumbled, giving up. 'I'm getting up.'

Plotmon jumped off the pre-teen as he sat up, bouncing on the bed a little. 'Chieko's making Tamagoyaki.'

'Yay, yay, yay,' cheered Patamon's voice, accompanied by the sound of little bat-like wings fluttering around his head. 'Yummy Tamagoyaki.'

'Everyone's here?' Kouichi mumbled, rubbing his eyes. Still feeling heavy with sleep, the rubbing did somewhat help, even if it did nothing to help his vision.

'Yep, yep, yep.' Normally it was cute how the little child digimon repeated everything, but not when he was barely awake. The sound of a spring snapping followed plodding paws on the wooden floor told him Plotmon was moving towards the door.

'Will you be down soon?' Plotmon asked seriously.

'I'll be down in ten minutes,' Kouichi replied, running his fingers down his form, working out where he had tangled himself into the sheets before pulling himself free without falling off the bed as he would when he was younger.

'All right,' she agreed. 'Patamon, let's leave him to-Patamon.' That repeat was said in a minor scolding, probably because of the wings still fluttering around his head.

'All right.' The voice held a distinctive pout, even if Kouichi couldn't see it, trying to locate his pillow as the two retreated.

He gave up on the pillow when he couldn't find it by feeling around, instead walking over to the window and undoing the latch.

'Renamon?' he whispered softly, listening carefully for any movement on the roof. The sound he had come to associate with the fox's quick and graceful motion greeted him in return. He had been expecting that; she rarely slept in the night. She claimed she preferred to when he was elsewhere occupied, where there was at least someone else to look out for him. Normally Lopmon or his father.

It was still strange, even after three years. There had been several shocks and adjustments. First that his new 'father' was not only a businessman in the retail line of the Digimon franchise, but one of its creators. Second, the Digimon were not only novelties, but real creatures although only a select few knew the truth about them. And now, third, he had a partner of his own. Then there were the more placate shocks of getting used to the new lifestyle, memorising the layout of the house and its feel, memorising the soft patters of Lopmon as opposed to his father's heavier steps, then his 'uncle' and 'aunt' and their digimon partners as well.

Then there had been that prototype that Satoru had told him about. The older mad had made sure to make it absolutely clear that there was no obligation on him whatsoever to go through with the process, especially as it was an experimental product that hadn't been tested yet on a human, though it had passed animal testing, much to Satoru's slight disgust (there was a reason he stayed well away from that particular field). Science was science however, and he had to accept that the inhumane treatment of a few animals went towards improving human life, and at times, saving them. Then there was the treatment of humans themselves, but he found that sat easier with him, perhaps because the results were easier to see. There were times when the years of animal deaths resulted in nothing at all.

The painful and dangerous part had been the insertion and wiring of the electrodes. He didn't even remember that part, and no-one sought to remind him. But it had succeeded, allowing the prototype to be improved from the blurred monochrome screen that read like an silver halide-based infra-red camera which projected in black and white to something that observed in the visible spectrum. Of course, there was also the problem with tolerance; at the beginning, he had passed out from the sheer intensity of it all. He did that the next few times as well, until his body eventually got used to the small external currents and the rest of him got used to the fact that he was seeing things. It hadn't mattered to him that none of them made any sense. It didn't matter that there was no colour. The only thing that had mattered was that his mother hadn't been there to see with him.

Over the two years since he had recovered enough to continue with things has he had, the apparatus had been modified into a more practical and mobile form, into a pair of sunglasses-like things actually, so it raised very few questions in public (people had still been curious in the first tournament why he had been wearing glasses. Funnily enough, that was the year he had worn them for absolutely no reason at all. It was the second year he had worn the modified version.

Now, their focus was far better, although he still couldn't read fine print with them. They were still black and white, as Hitoshi decided that it was more important to fix the imaging. The tolerance was better too, he could wear the frames for about four hours without a break in good weather; storms provided a problem because of the electricity content in the air, so he covered his temples during those times, and consequently his eyes.

The wind sounded angry outside, and he could feel a headache forming. That probably meant bad weather he mused somewhat sadly, withdrawing from the window and relatching it; he was sure he had heard Renamon leave the roof. No doubt she would use the door and be in his room in a flash.

Yep, he thought, winding the black strip of cloth around his head and tying it off at the back. He had heard the faint sound of paws landing lightly on wood.

'Ohayou gozaimasu,' the female voice, firm and strong, reached his ears. 'Did you sleep well?'

'Hai,' the other replied, before replying to the greeting. 'Have you seen my pillow?'

The fox digimon spied it half under the bed and retrieved it, putting it into the eleven-year old boy's hands and watching him remake his bed.

'You're awake earlier today,' she remarked, watching him feel and smooth out the creases in his bedsheet.

'Plotmon woke me,' he replied calmly. It was a regular occurrence after all. 'Is it before eight?'

'It's seven thirty,' Renamon replied. 'Excited for school?'

'Yep,' the other agreed, leaving the bed satisfied and walking to his closet. 'Times like this make me wish I had a uniform.'

'So you don't have to pick out an outfit?' the female teased.

They got along quite well. Renamon was remarkably intelligent for a digimon and it hadn't taken her too long to adapt to their human ways, which had led Satoru to wonder if it had something to do with the ancient power from which the cards had been made, and from where she had consequently been born. He dismissed that idea soonafter though, recalling that Kouichi had fallen in love with the Renamon card at first sound (a modification of love at first sight Chieko had laughed, before having to placate the overprotective and overly serious father) and figured it had more to do with the child's imagination.

Kouchi stared blindly at his clothes, trying to remember which order they were in, particularly the shirts, seeing as he had already worn the forest green overcoat and there was no sense in using another one. After some deliberation, he pulled out a maroon pullover, causing the fox to giggle slightly.

'What?'

'Red and green Kouichi-kun?' she teased. 'Add that in with the grey jeans, and we're got at a Christmas tree.'

'I do not look like a Christmas tree,' he muttered, tugging at his navy blue pyjamas. 'Do I?'

'Not at all,' Renamon assured, licking her own silver fur that set her apart from others of her species. 'You look handsome as always…well, as handsome as a human gets after all. We digimon prefer to mate with our own kind.'

It took a moment for that to click. Luckily his father wasn't around to hear the banter; he tended to get rather fatherly about the whole girl issue…save Chieko and Plotmon. Presumably Renamon too, but he for one would rather not test that.

Still, there was one problem with her being a girl.

He waited till he was sure she had gone downstairs, before closing both the curtains and the door firmly and changing.

* * *

He was downstairs after ten minutes as promised. He would have actually been downstairs in nine, but Lopmon had gotten impatient and decided to head upstairs, only to nearly bump into the eleven year old. The boy had stopped walking upon hearing the light footsteps, not fancying a trip over those long years, causing the child digimon to laugh nervously once he realised and to tiptoe back down and into the living room.

Kouichi followed, wondering why the other wasn't heading to the dining room instead. The question was answered by the chatter and harmonies of the adults, digimon and utensils.

'Come sit here,' Satoru told him. 'To my left.'

Kouichi did so, pinpointing the voice then feeling for the ground, and then his own utensils, lightly brushing against a glove (Renamon's he thought) in the process.

'Tamagoyaki,' Chieko explained as his fingers touched a plate wider than what they normally used for breakfast. 'And steamed rice and miso soup.'

'Satoru wasn't allowed in the kitchen today,' Lopmon laughed, away from the table with the other digimon. 'She says special days call for the aunt and uncle.'

There was a deeper laugh. Hitoshi's. 'Only I can't cook,' he reminded. 'But first day at school is enough of a special occasion.'

'To drag you out of bed at seven in the morning?' Satoru commented wryly. 'I take it you're volunteering for chaperone then?'

'Seeing as you need to be at the office and Chieko at the salon? Of course.'

Kouichi just ate in silence until he was picking up slices of air. A quick check confirmed that the dishes were indeed empty, after which he made to get up off the floor and pick the dishes up off the low table, only to be stopped on both accounts.

'Is your bag packed?' his father asked him, sounding suddenly a little anxious. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that he would be going to school for the first time in three years, and to a new school at that.

'Hai 'tou-san,' Kouichi replied. 'We checked it together last night.'

'Glasses? No, good. The weather's not looking too good today. Coat?'

'On the hook.'

'Umbrella?'

'Iie, but the coat has a hood.'

'You don't want him carrying too much anyway,' the brunette cut in. 'And Chieko packed lunch, so don't worry about that either. Onigiri, some salmon and rolls. And a water bottle.'

'Cane?' Satoru persisted.

'Umm…' Kouichi had to think about that a little. Since the lenses worked quite well now, he normally didn't need the cane outside of the house, and the house was kept clean and consistent enough so he never needed it indoors. He hadn't had one before because they weren't introduced to children till they at least seven, and preferably when somebody could supervise their progress so the blind child didn't wind up accidently hurting either themselves or somebody else with the stick…and of course making sure he was using it correctly.

He remembered finally that it was in the umbrella stand, along with the umbrellas.

'Umbrella stand,' he supplied.

'Make sure you fetch it on the way out,' his father reminded him.

'Hai 'tou-san.'

The clock chimed then, precisely eight times to signal the time.

'Well,' Hitoshi said, standing up as Chieko returned from the kitchen. 'Time to get going.'

Kouichi stood as well, as did his father, before enveloping him in a quick, gruff hug.

The other two shared a quick grin. It always amused them seeing their friend since childhood acting paternally, though they made sure to keep the teasing light in the child's presence so as not to give off the wrong impression.

There was a sound of confusion amongst the digimon sitting on a mat with their bowls spread…except for Renamon who had been sitting with the adults with her legs folded beneath her.

'Good luck.' That was Lopmon.

'Can I come? Please? Please? Please? I promise I'll behave.' Patamon obviously.

'Patamon, you know we cannot be seen in public,' Plotmon reprimanded.

'It's not fair.' Patamon again, with a distinctly pouting face, before it brightened. 'I'll hide in Kouchi's backpack.'

'You will not be able to keep quiet,' the female puppy sighed. 'That aside, it wouldn't be fair that you went and we cannot. Neither Lopmon or I would fit.'

'Then why does Renamon get to go?'

'I give up,' Plotmon groaned as the sound of beating wings came nearer and the older raven haired male attacked the younger's with a comb.

'I already combed it,' Kouichi said automatically, raising a hand to feel his smooth hair.

'And it's fine sweetie,' the blonde woman affirmed, sighing and steering the hand away. 'It's not like he's getting married.'

'All right, fine,' the man grumbled, before placating himself to speak to his adopted son. 'Have a good day at school. And if anyone annoys you-'

'Satoru,' Chieko reprimanded.

The sound of slippers scraping against the thin carpet told the blind child that his father had given in and backed away, albeit reluctantly. Hitoshi laughed out loud, handing the boy his cloak and letting him slip it on before he retrieved his backpack from where he had left it the previous night next to the shoe rack and his white cane in the umbrella stand, swinging the former onto his shoulders and expanding the latter, before feeling in the shoe rack for his shoes (strap-ons because they were easier to deal with than laces).

They left like that, Hitoshi leading Kouichi by the hand and the latter counting off the steps to make sure he knew the way home, free hand guiding the cane along a low sweeping motion to keep track of the obstacles, the brunette playing the role of the narrator whenever the stick hit something. Not people; they recognised the international sign and avoided it.

* * *

Orimoto Izumi sat at her chosen desk on the first day of a new term, beside the side window which she knew from the previous year was always open. Around her, groups of friends chatted about their holiday, but they mostly ignored her. She told herself she didn't mind, but there was still that little part at the back of her head that wished she wasn't so different from them. To be honest, most of her didn't quite understand what exactly it was that differentiated her from her peers; sure, she had lived for a few years in Italy, a substantial few years, and thus her behaviour and ideals differed from the more conservative Japanese, but they didn't need to attack her for it.

An involuntary scowl graced her face as a familiar girl from the previous year sat on the seat in front of her. Of course, the one next to her was empty…for the time being. It changed soonafter the teacher walked in though.

All the students scrutinised her as soon as she walked in. Jet black hair was pinned back with a simple clip, keeping it in its bun. She dressed conservatively yet neatly, wearing a black coat over an olive green dress that fell up to knee height, a few shades lighter than her eye colour. Her face wasn't creased with sternness, but there was still that no-nonsense aura about her. Especially when she immediately told off a boy in the first row who had been swinging on his chair in boredom.

She introduced herself as Hasegawa Kotone, informing them that she would be taking all their subjects save art, home education, music and sport. The former three were taken by the same teacher who they would be meeting in fourth period for their first music class of the year, and the latter would be revealed on their once a week sport classes on Thursdays. Izumi made a mental note to wear track-pants that day.

She looked briefly at the current arrangement, eyes lingering slightly on the empty seat beside her, then on a few pairs who looked like they could get disruptive, but she didn't make any changes.

'I will be shifting your seats if I find any disruptions,' she informed them calmly, before turning to the door. 'Now, I'd like you all to welcome a new student.'

The blonde perked up at that. New students were always interesting, and they'd be sitting next to her seeing as that was the only empty seat in the room. They'd have to tolerate each other at the least, because they'd be stuck being desk buddies for presumably the rest of the year.

She gaped when she noticed who had walked in however, led by the student counsellor who simply whispered a few words to the teacher and then left. So did a good number of the other students, about half. After all, the Digimon Grand Prix was a rather famous tournament, even across the other regions of Tokyo. So they all knew the raven haired boy as the latest winner. And most of them had seen the last one, whether broadcasted or live, so they also knew about his handicap.

Izumi however had missed that one, being in Italy at the time, as had a few others, but everyone could see he was blind from the white cane he carried and the red strip marking the international symbol.

'This is Kimura Kouichi,' the teacher said, a little redundantly but to confirm to normal standards. 'Kimura-kun, you can sit next to Orimoto-chan. At the left end of the third row.'

The desks were situated in four rows of four, seating a total of 32 students. Neatly arranged, the cane knocked gently on each of the desks, counting them off till he found the right one. He thought so anyway; he decided it was probably better to check.

'Orimoto-chan?' he asked.

Izumi grinned brightly, even though the other couldn't see. 'Orimoto Izumi,' she said by way of introduction, watching him pull the chair out from under the desk and sit on it. She glared at the pair of boys behind them; one had looked like he was going to kick the chair in.

'Orimoto-chan,' Kotone continued. 'I trust you won't mind showing him around.'

'Not at all,' the blonde replied brightly, a little amused by the stir the "Digimon King" had caused. Most of the girls were ogling at him, enough so that he could feel the gazes enough to look slightly uncomfortable. Then there were some of the boys, who one found a reason for spite, and secondly had lost to him at some point or other. All in all, not the best way to start off a school year. Izumi, she was just plain excited. Here was a boy, new, seemingly nice with soft features (she couldn't see his eyes because of the black strip), and someone who shared at least one common interest with her. For some reason, few girls in her year level played the game.

'Arigato Orimoto-chan,' Kouichi whispered.

'No problema,' Izumi replied, as the teacher gave them permission to talk to the person next to them for a few minutes as she wrote notes on the board.

'Italian?' the boy guessed, realising there was an accent in the voice.

'Um…yeah.' _No-one had ever figured it out that fast_. 'My mother's family is Italian, and we lived over there for a few years. I just came back last year to study again in Japan.'

The raven nodded. 'Do you like languages?'

That hadn't been the question she had expected. 'Like? I suppose. The grammar always gets me though. And there's so many characters to learn.'

'Agreed,' the other agreed. 'I still can't write in Kanji.'

'What are you most comfortable with?'

'Tenji.'

The conversation was flowing rather smoothly, so the half-Italian decided to grapple with the straws a bit and play twenty questions.

'Favourite animal?'

'Huh?' He thought for a moment. 'The cat family. Kittens, lions. I've always loved the stories about the lions. My next favourite is foxes though. You?'

'Birds for me,' the blonde supplied. 'Not the type to be chased down by your cats though. Graceful strong birds. That's why I love the Hounomon card.'

'You play?' he asked in surprise.

'What? Don't think a girl can play? She said it half defensively, half amused as the boy stuttered a negative.

'Iie,' he said. 'I just didn't recognise your voice. Did you play in the tournaments?'

'No,' she admitted. 'I wanted to this year, but we were in Italy. My deck's basically winged monsters, though I'll throw in any girl that can kick butt.'

'Mine's a mix,' he said. 'Usually I play a hybrid of angel/warrior deck along with the digimentals; they've always been a favourite of mine to play around with, but sometimes I toss in a few others and my father's prototypes when he wants them tested.'

'Your father's a card designer?' she asked, and he nodded in reply. 'Okay, next question. Um…favourite fruit?

'Strawberries.'

'Same. Food?'

He blushed a bit. 'Everybody cooks so well I can never pick.'

'Me neither,' Izumi had to agree. 'I get stuck between pizza and those rice balls. I got pizza for lunch.'

'Interesting,' Kouichi commented, wondering what it was about this girl's easy manner that made her easy to talk to. She reminded him of Chieko in a way. 'I've got Onigiri.'

'Let's trade some then,' the girl piped. 'We're eating lunch together…unless you had other plans or something.'

'Not at all,' the boy assured.

Further conversation was cut off when Kotone requested their attention, ready to break in a few ground rules. Because she was reading each one out, it was easy for Kouichi, using his slate and stylus with a heavy piece of paper in between, to copy down (backwards of course).

Izumi gave him a quick look, making sure he was getting the notes, before writing her own. So did the rest of the students, even if they were the same as all previous years…with a few additions.

* * *

When lunch came after fifth period, Izumi led Kouichi up to the roof after a tour of the school. 'Here's nice and quiet,' she said. 'And I love the feel of the breeze on my face.'

She leaned on the rail, closing her eyes and enjoying the wind as the other's cane traced along the rails before he joined her. 'How's the weather?' he asked.

'Um…' She opened her eyes to look at the sky. 'Uh oh. Looks like it's going to start raining any minute. Scratch that,' she amdended, feeling the first raindrops on her cheeks. Kouichi started slightly, having felt them too. 'Thank goodness there's an outcrop here. Come on.'

Without warning, she grabbed his hand and dragged him under the shade as the drops turned into a gentle pour, pulling him down to sit on the bench and taking her own seat next to him.

It was only after she unwrapped her pizza slices and made to offer one that she noticed the other blushing. Then she remembered that most Japenese weren't the touchy-feely type, especially with somebody of the opposite gender that they had just met.

'Sorry,' she mumbled, a little awkwardly.

'It's okay,' the other said, opening his own bento up. 'I'm not wet, ne?'

She smiled at him.

_'She's smiling at you,'_ Renamon's voice told him telepathically. If he hadn't known she would follow him to school, he would probably have fallen out of his seat in shock. As it was, he managed not to react physically. _'She's a pretty girl.'_

'Could you…' Kouichi began, a little awkwardly, but that statement by his partner had sparked his curiosity. 'Could you tell me what you look like?'

'Huh?' Izumi blinked a little, before understanding. 'Like appearance?'

'Hai.'

She looked at herself, wondering what to say. 'Well,' she began. 'I've got blonde hair, goes up to the end of my shoulder blades, and green eyes. I normally wear a hat, light purple with a dark purple trim, and I normally wear either purple or blue outfits. I guess I just like those colours.'

Kouichi tilted his head upwards slightly, memorising that description. 'I hope the weather clears up soon,' he said. 'I don't like storms.'

'I don't mind them,' the other said, looking out to the sky, watching little flecks of thunder dance the sky in the far distance. She didn't say why though, thinking it might be a little tactless, instead changing the subject. 'Pizza? Pepperoni and cheese?'

The boy accepted it, feeling in the air for a moment before grabbing it and offering the bento with the other hand, putting it back onto his lap when it felt little lighter.

'Delizioso,' she commented.

Kouichi made a noise of agreement, busy still with his piece.

'How did you know I was Italian?' Izumi asked suddenly, polishing off the rest of her onigiri.

'You said "no problem" half in Italian,' Kouichi replied, thinking back. 'I thought I recognised Italian in there. Or it could have been…wait a sec.' He laughed suddenly, quiet and gentle. 'No problema is Spanish.'

'It is?' the blonde asked with interest. 'You seem to know quite a bit about languages.'

'Just speaking,' the other affirmed. 'It's something I don't need to rely on anybody to be able to learn. Cassettes, radio, that sort of thing.'

'What sort of music do you like then?' she inquired.

'Piano,' the other said immediately.

'Me too, only I seem to have jelly fingers when it comes to playing.'

By the time lunch finished, both realised they had done more talking than usual that day. But neither really seemed to mind...except for the murderous looks Izumi was getting as they headed off to sixth period math, something neither of them were particularly good at.

* * *

Seventh period was art, a class Izumi was fortunately not in, but she had given him directions that had gotten him there, just before the bell too. Realising he couldn't see the door numbers but realising at the same time, mainly through some of the conversation (a bit of reading through the lines) and his choice of school that he didn't want to be babied about his blindness, she warned him all doors were on the left side and stairs on the right, then told him how many doors to pass before he got to the stairs, then how many more to his right before he got to the art room.

Finding a seat however hadn't been so simple. Actually, finding a seat was all right, his cane had sought one out, but somebody had moved the chair when he made to sat down. Luckily, he hadn't sat all the way, and so hadn't wound up sprawled on the floor, but there had been a few snickers and a growl accompanying him when he finally sat at his desk. He only vaguely recognised a few of the voices; he thought they were from his homeroom. All of them had been in his music class, but there hadn't been much talking in there.

Their teacher, Takumi Yasuo, set them a free reign for their first lesson, instructing each to produce an artwork with a single pencil, handing out to those who hadn't brought one. Kouichi was one of those.

In the end, he got an assortment of images. Some were observational pieces, like the desk in front or the vase sitting in a corner of the room. There were also more creative pieces, like a "groovy" car and the likes. Kouichi, after having regretted the fact that he didn't have his lenses, had done what he had done when he had gone to elementary school when living with his mother, drawing out the way he remembered his mother's face to feel on paper. He hadn't done that for years, and he never even knew if the image was accurate, but the image was so strongly engraved in his heart that nothing could ever erase it.

His teacher had been impressed. The classmates who had seen were either in awe or shock, or forgetting or ignoring the handicap, laughing at the gentle lines rolling over each other where he could not look to erase them. Kouichi didn't mind it all that much; it meant they weren't treating him any differently. No doubt though, he mused, making his way carefully back to homeroom, he would grow tired or irritated of it in due time. He hoped not though, he really was grateful for the opportunity.

* * *

Izumi made it home in good spirits, the rain having let up so not even getting wet.

'I'm home Mama,' she sung, kissing the taller and older blonde on the cheek.

'How was school?' her mother, Adelina, asked curiously.

'Fine Mama,' she responded brightly. 'There was a new boy in school today.'

'Boy?' the woman repeated a little sceptically.

'Not like that,' Izumi said exasperatedly. 'He was nice. He's really good with languages, plays the piano, is as bad at math as me, and-'

'Izumi,' her mother interrupted. 'Is there anything more...solid you wanted to tell me.'

'Well…he's also blind,' she admitted. 'But he seems to get along quite well.'

'I hope you didn't patronise him.'

'Of course not,' Izumi replied. 'The most I did was give him a commentated tour and drag him by the hand under the cover when it suddenly started raining.'

Adelina laughed at the description. 'All right,' she gave. 'He sounds like a good boy. We'll have to meet him though.'

'Oh Mama,' Izumi sighed exasperatedly. 'Okay, I'll mention it. I need to get to know him a little better first. It was more like…'

'Love at first sight?' her mother teased.

'No,' her daughter immediately responded, cheeks heating slightly. 'Mama, I'm _eleven_. And just because I'm making a male friend, it doesn't mean I'm going to fall in love with him.' She crossed her arms. 'Did you fall in love with every guy friend you had?'

'Of course not honey,' Adelina laughed. 'I was just teasing.'

The blush faded. It was always awkward when mothers did that.

'By the way, you got this in the mail.'

And she handed her an envelope.

Once Izumi was safely upstairs in her room, she opened it. Her first reaction was to blink; there looked to be nothing in there…until she noticed a blue card fall out.

'Blue?' she wondered aloud, before looking at it more thoroughly, before shrugging and testing it in the scanner. 'Probably a hoax-'

She cut off as the scanner morphed in her hand, revealing a digivice like structure with two tones of purple.

'Or not,' she finished, as the Biyomon card sitting on the top of her deck flew and scanned itself.

A moment later, a replica of the image on the card was blinking up at her.

'Hi,' she chirped. 'I'm Piyomon.'

'Piyomon?' Izumi repeated. 'Not Biyomon?'

'Biyomon in English. Piyomon in Japanese,' the bird replied, ruffling her feathers, before looking out the open window. 'I love the wind here. Much more peaceful than the Digital World.'

Izumi looked carefully at the bird, who was now flapping her wings experimentally. She was shocked; of course she would be, a character from her favourite anime show had just materialised right in front of her.

'How'd you get here?' she asked instead.

'You called me,' the child digimon replied. 'We're meant to be partners.'

The human looked back at the card in her hand. It was no longer blue. In fact, it was a regular card, only one she had never seen before.

'AncientIrismon,' she read. 'What's this?'

The bird shook her head. She had never heard of it. Perhaps because she was too young.


	4. A Digimon TeaParty

**Author's Notes**

First things first. For those of you who had this fic on alert, my apologies for reposting that last chapter. I meant to put this one up, but somehow deleted the other by accident, then realised it was another chapter for another fic I'd completed and this one still wasn't quite over and done with. And it took a while to finish up. My bad there…and it was an accident mind you. Sometimes I repost them because the chapter isn't showing up properly.

On another note, truth be told, I was rather disappointed with the reception of the last chapter, or really on the majority of my digimon fics, particularly multichaptered, of late. As far as I can tell, my writing and plot and character working has improved over the years, however I feel like I'm getting far less appreciation for my efforts. With some fics specifically I wonder if it's worth spending all that time working with plots and plans and actual chapters if only one or two people out of hundreds are going to appreciate it? Or even say anything other than just flicking through the chapter. If you're an author, you should understand how it feels to have people comment and reflect on your work. It's the thing that really makes it worthwhile, otherwise I'm just writing for me, in which case I'm not obliged to ever put it down on paper (or MS word in this case) if I can essentially read the entire story in my mind. Can you guys understand that?

Sorry for the monologue, but the lack of feedback recently does really have me down. And I know for a fact it's not just me. But I am starting to wonder whether or not it's time to retire my account.

Back to the fic. We're back to Takuya and Agumon, and more Chosen and their partners are introduced this chapter. It is partially based off episode 2 of Digimon Tamers…very loosely in fact. Mostly hiding Agumon from family, school fiascos…but they differ too. This is an AU after all. This was supposed to be quite a humorous chapter, but it's still important in the scheme of things, particularly in introducing new characters. This chapter sets up several things, provided I get it up some time this year.

* * *

**Redealt**

AU. It started off as a card game. But it became so much more as spirits long since sealed emerged, and with them, chaos. Frontier, pseudo-crossover with tamers.

Rating: T

Genre/s: Drama

* * *

**Chapter 3 – A Digimon Tea Party**

'Dammit,' Takuya cursed. 'Can't you stay out of trouble?'

Agumon's green eyes blinked at him innocently as he poked one his three long ebony claws into his mouth, much like a toddler did when they wanted something to suck.

'Takuya,' his mother yelled from downstairs, and he froze. 'What are you doing having a shower this early in the morning?'

'Uh…' He said the first thing that popped into his mind. Once the words were out of his mouth however, he would have done anything to retract them. 'I kind of wet my bed!' he yelled at the top of his lungs.

There was a laugh outside the bathroom. His little brother's.

'You're still wetting your bed,' he chortled.

'Dammit Shinya, if you ever mention this to anybody else…'

He sincerely hoped the threat had not fallen on deaf ears as it so appeared, otherwise he'd have a time showing his face out the door.

'Oh dear.' Oh great. His mother had come up too. 'Are you feeling sick or something? Did you have a nightmare? You know you can come to your father and I?'

'I'll bet it was a nightmare,' Shinya chortled. 'You were making all these weird noises all night long.'

Those weird noises were actually Agumon not knowing how to sit still. But he couldn't exactly tell his family that. As it was, he had lucked out when he popped the digimon in the attic temporarily. The entrance was in his bedroom, and the roof was compartmentalised…which meant the Child couldn't go thumping further than the four corners that limited _his_ space. Shinya _would_ have heard him though. And he _would_ bring it up now.

Although he had, perhaps unknowingly, given him a good excuse.

'Shinya, go downstairs and finish your breakfast.'

'Hai 'kaa-san.'

'Yeah, nightmare,' he answered through the closed door, clamping his hands around the digimon's jaw so he didn't say something. 'Watched too many horror fics last night.'

There was a pause, then a sigh. 'Are you sure there's nothing wrong?'

'Oh yeah 'kaa-san.' His brain was thinking furiously to explain away the "wetting bed" part. Preferably something that didn't involve…well, everyone knew _that_. 'I…' Some water splashed onto the side and he quickly turned off the taps.

He blinked at the water, than at their personalised water cups, just in case they got thirsty during the night.

It gave him an idea.

'I woke up afterwards and was thirsty so I got a glass of water but was so sleepy I fell asleep before finishing.' He gave an awkward laugh to puncture the statement. 'Kinda spilt when I fell asleep.'

There was a sigh on the other side. 'You know the rules,' Kanbara Yuriko said severely. 'No taking food or drink into the bedroom.'

'Hai 'kaa-san,' Takuya mumbled, trying to sound ashamed. He was lucky the door was in the way. It was a lot harder to lie to mothers when they were looking you in the eye. 'I'll try not to do it again.'

'Now hurry up and get ready for school. And don't even think about playing that thermometer trick on your father again.'

'Hai 'kaa-san,' he said again.

There was the sound of footsteps after that, indicating his mother had gone back downstairs.

He breathed a sigh of relief. 'Thank goodness.'

Agumon blinked at him.

'Oh, don't look at me like that,' Takuya grumbled. 'How the heck am I supposed to keep you hidden all the time?'

The lizard took his claw out of his mouth, and then yawned. 'It's bo_ring_,' he whined.

Well…he could understand that. But what the heck could he do about it?

'Don't forget.' His mother suddenly appeared at the door again, causing him to jump and clamp his hands over his partner's jaw again. 'You're running errands for your grandmother after school today.'

'Don't worry 'kaa-san,' he yelled back. 'I'll remember.'

He breathed another sigh of relief, sincerely thanking both Lady Luck and his grandparents. Both of them were rather…absent-minded. Chances were they wouldn't notice an orange lizard. And if they did…well, he'd just say it was a watch-dog. They'll forget soon anyway. It made shopping for them a little difficult though. His record was twelve trips.

They were getting old. It was understandable. He wouldn't trade his grandparents for the world though. They told the best stories.

'Are we going somewhere?' Agumon blinked again.

'_I_ am going to school,' the brunette replied. 'You are-' He paused. He couldn't well leave Agumon alone in the house. It'd turn into a hurricane site.

'We're going somewhere,' the reptile cheered, dancing around in an odd sort of jig.

'Don't get so excited,' Takuya cautioned. 'School isn't all that great.'

_What am I going to do with him_? Then he grinned. _Ah, what the heck. It's the coolest thing since the card game. I've got my very own Digimon_.

'Takuya, are you done with the bathroom? I'd like to shave some time before this afternoon.'

'Shush,' he hissed, hurriedly to his digimon, soaking himself. After all, he'd have to _look_ like he had a bath at the very least. 'Nearly done.'

* * *

Junpei shuffled his deck again.

'C'mon,' he muttered to it. 'One more time.'

He drew a card, looking at the Kunemon image it on it.

'Ladies and gentlemen,' he said to his empty room. 'Boys and girls, here I have here…' He flourished the card. 'Kunemon! Lightning covers his body with electric blue and stunning yellow. He's one of the smallest Child Digimon in the game, but his Electric Thread packs a powerful wallop. But let's watch him get even stronger.'

He spun the card, swapping it rapidly in his hands before slipping it discreetly up his sleeve and swapping it for the second card he had put there earlier.

'Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the K-a blue card?'

He stared at the card. He was sure he had put Kabuterimon up his sleeve. Heck, he was sure he didn't even have a blue card.

He tossed it on his desk and quickly wafted through his deck, searching for Kabuterimon. Part of him was annoyed the trick had failed again. And it should have been a simple trick by all accounts.

He found it eventually, only because it fell out of his sleeve in the shuffling. But Kunemon had disappeared off the face of his bedroom. He'd even checked under the bed to be sure.

'But I just had it in my hand,' he mumbled in confusion, staring at the blue one once more. 'What the heck is this thing anyway?'

He shuffled around for his scanner, finally withdrawing it from under his jumpsuit.

'Let's see what you're made of.'

The card neatly swiped through, and zeroes and ones filled the screen. He tried to follow them for a moment, but then the reader began to overheat.

'Oh no,' he muttered, dropping it to the carpet where it spat and smoked. 'Those things cost a fortu-'

Right before his eyes, the blue plastic was morphing and changing shape in a wave of light. Once it was done, a navy blue and yellow device blinked up at him, screen flashing merrily.

He knelt down and hesitantly touched, jerking his hand back immediately before realising he had felt no burn as he had expected. In fact, the plastic was very cool to his touch.

He reached for it again, and the screen stopped blinking, turning to a dark grey. The blue card he had dropped however began to fade away into pixels, and once the teen blinked and stared again, it was back to being Kunemon.

He touched his favourite card with the other hand, then fell backwards in shock as both card and device shot out from under his hands, coming together.

The next moment, a yellow wasp grub was slinking its way towards him, the new device in hand, before depositing it in his lap.

'Are you my friend?' he asked.

Junpei just stared.

'You're-You're-'

'I'm Kunemon.' He tilted his head slightly. Without hands, or eyes for that matter (unless he could see from the lightning designs that decorated his face), there wasn't much more he could do. 'You're my friend, aren't you?'

'Err…I guess so.'

He reared on his two hind-most legs, hugging him with the four at the front. 'Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you!'

Junpei awkwardly patted him with a finger.

And then his alarm went off, totally ruining the moment.

'Darn it,' he exclaimed as the insectoid jumped. 'Sorry 'bout that, forgot to turn it off.'

The lightning designs on his face were suddenly leaking tears.

'No-one's ever said sorry to me before,' he sniffed.

'Don't get over-emotional!'

* * *

'Um…Takuya? Are you okay?'

Teruo looked up from the cards he had been sorting through, watching Takuya drag in his heavy bag.

The other brunette grunted an incomprehensible reply and collapsed face-down.

'Uhh…'

'Hey you two.' Junpei poked his head in, finding Takuya on the floor. 'What's with you?'

'Please don't ask,' he groaned, wriggling out from under the bag and plopping down on his usual pillow. 'Oww, I'm going to have osteposis by the time I'm thirty.'

'Osteposis?' Teruo repeated. 'Don't you mean osteoporosis?'

'Yeah, that.' Then he grinned a little cheesily. 'Why are we talking about old grandpa's anyway? Let's play a few rounds.'

Junpei and Teruo exchanged glances and the former shrugged.

'Attention span of a gnat,' he whispered under his breath, before nearly jumping out of his skin at a snort of laughter. 'what the heck?'

Teruo just shook his head. Takuya apparently hadn't even heard them.

'Seriously guys, what are you…oh oh.'

He had just realised he didn't have his scanner, due to the simple fact that it had turned into some sort of digivice.

'I-er…' He rubbed a mat at the back of his head. 'I forgot my scanner at home.'

'Me too,' Junpei said, a little more honestly. He actually had left the scanner-turned-digivice under the bed…just for safe-keeping.

Ever the studious one, the third member of their trio pulled out a pen and loose scrap of paper. 'We can keep score here,' he said, putting them both in the middle before picking up his loose cards, quickly shuffling them (and unlike Junpei, not losing any in the process) before laying them face-down.

Three minutes later, Takuya managed to withdraw his, but by that time the pair had already started a match.

'No fair,' he exclaimed.

Junpei shrugged. 'Be more organised next time,' he said flatly, calling Tentomon out to his front line. 'You can score keep if you want.'

'Gee, thanks,' the other said sarcastically. 'There's _nothing_ I like more than score-keeping.'

Teruo deliberated over his cards a moment, ignoring his two bickering friends. He always seemed to do that, plotting out viable strategies in his head even before he had drawn a card. The result was that many a time the drawn card was either complementary to the strategy or not, in which case it was totally useless and he didn't even give it a backwards glance till the start of the next turn.

Junpei only had Tentomon on his field. It was true the game was young, but he liked to get in an advantage quick. Once you lost ground, it was very difficult to get it back. And he wasn't one to believe in miracles.

He had the cards to summon out Piedmon right in his hand. Perhaps not his favourite card, but it certainly packed a powerful punch. To be honest, it was just the clown face that got to him, but it did complement his deck rather nicely. Damage was decreased by 20% when hit with a close range attack, it had wind protection when facing long range attacks, and its long distance attacks were quite powerful as well. The card game had simplified rules when compared to its video-game counterpart, but it could not be denied that with an attack of 620, it came in handy. Of course, its effect wasn't nearly as valuable, but it was a useful start. Especially since it would last, at the very least, a few turns. And that should be enough for him to draw The Activation of the Holy Sword Summoning Formation to call out Alphamon and deal an extremely crucial blow.

One thing he rather disliked about the game was the amount of raw power it relied on. He was by far a fan of the video archive, where digimon could use tricks and cheats to battle their way through the arenas and plains. It was a world where a dreamer like Tapirmon could use its joys and woes to change others to his advantage, where he could equip him with Piedmon's swords to give him a both a long range and a short advantage. Where he could use Alphamon's one turn kill to wipe out the opposition in a spectator's finale…and only needing to use it once because his targets had tied themselves together, lost and confused in nightmares while seeking dreams.

There was a lot more in it. The cards were just paper. Though they did have their advantages. One was a human opponent, though he would have liked there to be more variety with the possible plays. The latest winner of the Digimon Grand Prix had pretty much exploited every trick in the book.

'Are you going to take your turn Teruo?' Takuya asked, having scrawled a barely readable "zero" on each half of the page.

He shrugged and drew a card, before blinking and tossing it away. Blue cards. Someone had probably been playing a prank on him. It wouldn't be the first time either, but the look on Takuya's face told him it wasn't the brunette who was responsible this time.

The card landed by his scanner, and starting glowing unnoticed. It was only when the device shrieked that he turned in mid-play.

'What the heck?' The boy, who normally thought it rather unbecoming to curse, did exactly that, blinking as his green device changed into a smaller one, loosing several shades of colour and adding silver to the décor.

The new digivice shot into his hands, and the moment he touched it, his deck exploded in a flurry of activity. Somehow, in the chaos, a Tapirmon card found itself scanned, and with another brilliant flash of light, a life-sized Child digimon was blinking dreamily up at him.

Teruo's mouth fell open in shock, and if it wasn't held to the rest of his face by its hinges, it would have probably crashed to the ground as Agumon exploded out of Takuya's backpack and sniffed the air.

'I smell a digimon,' he said, sniffing again, before blinking at the dream taper. 'Ooh, is he another friend? Is he Takuyamon?'

'It's Takuya, not Takuyamon,' the brunette muttered standing up and burying a fist into the other's head, ignoring the yelp of pain. 'And I already told you, no speaking, coming out of my backpack or causing any sort of trouble.'

'There's no trouble here,' the new digimon said serenely. 'And it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Bakumon.'

'I'm…Teruo,' Teruo blinked, before rubbing his eyes. 'I'm dreaming, aren't I?'

'Life is a dream,' Bakumon replied.

Teruo blinked again. 'You said your name was…Bakumon?'

'Is there something wrong with my name?' The taper tilted his head, looking rather adorable.

No-one noticed the wasp larvae crawl out of Junpei's bag and onto his shoulder.

'Right. Bakumon, not Tapirmon.' He closed his eyes, before opening them again and staring as his two friends. 'I'm definitely hallucinating. Is there any reason why you two aren't-' He cut himself off as Agumon suddenly stared into his face, snout a mere inch from his nose.

To his credit, he didn't shriek and jump back. He just closed his eyes, shook his head, and blindly shoved the orange lizard aside as he gathered up his things, taking the pen from Takuya.

'I'm outta here,' he muttered, turning to go.

'But-' Takuya began, only to be stopped by Junpei.

'Leave him,' the elder brunette explained. 'It is rather shocking seeing a digimon pop out of no-where like that.'

Takuya didn't really get it. 'That's no reason to just run off and leave the other guy behind.' He pointed to the pair, the hyperactive lizard nudging the sleepy taper.

'You dream of winning,' he said suddenly, looking straight into the brown eyes.

'Huh?' Takuya blinked for a moment, before shrugging. 'Well, yeah. I guess. I do love to win, so…I guess so.'

'I smell another digimon,' Agumon said suddenly, staring at the other, before suddenly charging.

Junpei yelped before a string of electricity shot past his ear, striking the lizard. All it did was make the other slow down slightly. 'Are we fighting?' he blinked, before opening his mouth.

'A misunderstanding,' Bakumon said before anyone else could answer, easily adapting into the role of peacekeeper. 'Smiles show a sharing of dreams.'

'Err…right. That makes no sense whatsoever.' Takuya shrugged it off. 'What was that electric worm anyway?'

'He's not a worm,' Junpei said automatically. 'His name's Kunemon. He's my partner.'

Agumon sniffed the other who scurried.

'Partner huh? Does yours cause trouble and can't sit still?'

'Now why does that remind me of you 'kuya?' Junpei asked rhetorically, before blinking as he heard a bell in the distance. 'Oh no, we're late.'

'So why are we running there?' Takuya panted as they both took up at a sprint, the former yelling at the three digimon to stay in their little hideout and stay out of trouble. 'It's not like it'll make a difference.'

'We could at least try to make it before they close the doors,' the other panted right back.

* * *

It wasn't till fifth period that things really started going crazy.

Takuya had art at that point in time, and he was busy scribbling illegible digimon in a scrap-book when there was a sort of commotion outside, then a high pitched scream.

'Monster!' someone shrieked.

'Monster?' Takuya repeated. _Neat. I wonder if it's another digimon_.

But when he snuck out of class (under the pretence of going to the toilet), he found himself face to face with Agumon.

'I told you to stay,' he scolded, before shrugging. 'I guess you were bored.'

Kunemon crawled up at that point. 'He wouldn't listen,' he said apologetically.

'Never mind. I take it you were bored too.'

The electric digimon shook his head. 'No, not bored. I'm tired of running.'

Takuya blinked at that, but Agumon at that point sniffed the air. 'I smell food.'

'I don't know how you can even stand the smell of the cafeteria food,' Takuya muttered. 'I'd much rather fight my way through the soccer team.'

'Ooh, a fight.' Agumon sniffed the air again, before running off.

'Electric thread.' But the spike of thunder fell too short as the orange lizard vanished from view.

A few minutes later, there was another shriek.

'Ah, drat.' He paused, then hollered: 'Agu-'

Someone covered his mouth.

'Are you that much of an idiot to go out yelling digimon about?' Teruo's voice hissed in his ear. 'How are you going to explain it when someone hears.'

'Erm, to be honest, I didn't really think about that.'

Teruo removed his hand as the other scratched the back of his head. It would be a miracle if he still had hair there by the time he turned twenty.

'If we tell people digimon suddenly showed up, we'll probably get locked up in an asylum…or they'll get taken to some lab and experimented on.'

The look in his silvery eyes was so intense that even the happy-go-lucky brunette backed up. 'Alright,' he said in slight alarm. 'But then we better catch them.'

Then he blinked again. 'Hold on, I thought you were in denial.'

Teruo just shrugged, holding out his other arm, and the taper that swirled around it, suddenly blinking into view and then disappearing again. 'This is rather indisputable evidence.'

'Neat-'

Another shriek.

'Oh crud.'

He sprinted off down the corridor. Lucky, it had just been a first grader, and they'd managed to convince her it was a classmate playing a prank.

'Now get back to the hideout and stay there,' Takuya ordered Agumon. 'I'll pick you up when we're going to grandpa's.'

'But I smell a digimon,' Agumon whined.

'I smell anger,' Bakemon added, appearing again. 'And loneliness.'


End file.
